The caveat (there always seems to be one in this year's GOP presidential race) is that "the results still didn't seal the deal for Mr. Romney," according to the Journal. It adds that "while [the win] will boost his lead in the delegate chase, it will take strong performances in contests over the next month for Mr. Romney to claim the 1,144 delegates needed to clinch the nomination, and probably longer than that."

Eyder live blogged as the news came in from Illinois last night. With nearly all precincts reporting, it looks like Romney got about 47 percent of the vote, to Santorum's 35 percent. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas received about 9 percent, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich trailed with 8 percent. (Full results here.)